Albany County Airport Authority Seeks New Site for Water Tank

February 10, 2004

Airport Authority Seeks New Site for Water Tank
Albany Business Review, NY

The red and white checkered Latham water tank, a local
landmark, will be replaced with a new one near Albany
Reservoir, Albany County Airport Authority officials
announced Feb. 9. 
  
Airport and town of Colonie officials have been
looking for a site for a replacement in order to
comply with a Federal Aviation Authority request to
eliminate the current tower. The water tank, located
on a hill above Latham Circle Mall, protrudes 56 feet
into the air corridor leading to the airport and the
FAA considers it a hazard. 

Replacing the tank will cost approximately $8 million,
with 95 percent of the cost being picked up by the
federal government and the remaining share split
evenly between the state and the airport, said Albany
International Airport CEO John O'Donnell. 

A study conducted by C.T. Male & Associates, at a cost
of $244,352.26, identified a site bounded by
Albany-Shaker Road, the Albany Reservoir, Aspinwall
Road and Hunts End Lane as the best site for a
replacement water tank, O'Donnell said, 

The town of Colonie has already contracted for the
parcel with the owner and letters have been sent to
the 200 property owners in the area notifying them of
the project, O'Donnell told airport board members.
Hearings on the project are due to begin within three
weeks, he said. 

The project will take about two years to finish,
O'Donnell said. 

Construction of the new tank will improve water
pressure within the town's water system and allow the
existing watertank, which is nearing the end of its
useful life, to be dismantled, O'Donnell said. 

The town's intention is to turn the property around
the new tank into a preserve, O'Donnell said. He
predicted, though, that there would be opposition. 

"We have a lot to do. It's going to be a heavy lift,
no doubt," he said. 

Airport board members also learned that a decline in
passenger boardings in 2003 and a shift to smaller
planes by the airlines contributed towards a drop in
airport revenue in 2003. Passenger boardings were 2.3
percent lower in 2003 than in 2002, airport officials
said. 

Landing fees were $589,000 below expectations, while
the airport had to pay $1.8 million to cover increased
costs for employee benefits, security, and overtime
for snowstorm cleanup, airport chief financial officer
Dwight Hadley said. 

In other actions, the board members gave Hadley
permission to investigate refinancing options that
could save the airport money on outstanding bond
issues. The airport finance committee will meet to
consider several proposals from major financial
houses. 

The board also approved a plan to increase the cost of
a luggage cart rental at the airport from $1.50 per
cart with 25 cents returned to the patron to $2 with a
25 cent refund. The airport is guaranteed 12 percent
of sales with a minimum of $7,000 annually. 

The rental fee is in line with what the vendor, Smarte
Carte, Inc., charges at other airports. 


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